Political Stars Align in L.A.

Gee, work in Hollywood must be really slow. What else would explain celebrities’ keen interest in the rather inconsequential race to replace Antonio Villaraigosa as mayor of Los Angeles?

The race’s main attractions, city councilman Eric Garcetti and controller Wendy Greuel, have sopped up endorsements and gob loads of cash from famous fans. According to the Los Angeles Times, late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel, musician Moby, Disney executive Michael Eisner, and actors Jake Gyllenhaal, Will Ferrell, Amy Smart and Selma Hayek have all pulled levers for Mr. Garcetti. Meanwhile, actors Tobey Maguire, Tom Hanks, Eva Longoria, Kate Hudson and DreamWorks founders Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen have helped raised over $250,000 for Ms. Greuel.

The controller has also gathered endorsements from the city’s police and utility unions, which Mr. Garcetti has emphasized at debates in an effort to cast himself as independent. However, the councilman enjoys implicit support from the city’s other unions, which are officially staying neutral. Mr. Garcetti rightly figures that the labor backing could be a handicap given the city’s fiscal problems, and Ms. Greuel has gone out of her way to distance herself from the unions.

The city is collapsing under a $200 million structural deficit. Former mayor Richard Riordan has posited that it could go bankrupt within a couple of years if drastic changes to employee compensation are not made. Ms. Greuel’s plan to avert bankruptcy is to “eliminate waste, fraud and abuse” and hire 2,000 more cops–which could cost an additional $2 billion. Mr. Garcetti meanwhile has proposed a supply-side stimulus of zeroing out the city’s business tax, but he hasn’t identified spending cuts to offset the consequent $500 million loss in revenues (scored statically). Neither has endorsed the half-cent sales tax increase on the March ballot, which Mr. Villaraigosa says is needed to avert 500 police layoffs.

Polls show Mr. Garcetti leading Ms. Greuel by a slim margin with the culturally liberal Republican Kevin James and councilwoman Jan Perry trailing in the distance. Assuming neither candidate wins an outright majority on March 5, they will compete in a May run-off. At the risk of sounding fatalistic, however, the result probably won’t matter much. Power rests primarily with the city council, which is a wholly bought subsidiary of the unions. This is in part why Mr. Villaraigosa has shown little interest in governing. He’s instead used his title to raise his national profile and hobnob with celebrities.

The question, then, is why celebrities have become so engaged in a race of so little import. Perhaps they’re suffering from a post-November hangover and need to affirm their political significance. Then again, maybe they just want someone to root for this spring since the Lakers in all likelihood won’t make the playoffs.

Political Stars Align in L.A.

Gee, work in Hollywood must be really slow. What else would explain celebrities’ keen interest in the rather inconsequential race to replace Antonio Villaraigosa as mayor of Los Angeles?

The race’s main attractions, city councilman Eric Garcetti and controller Wendy Greuel, have sopped up endorsements and gob loads of cash from famous fans. According to the Los Angeles Times, late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel, musician Moby, Disney executive Michael Eisner, and actors Jake Gyllenhaal, Will Ferrell, Amy Smart and Selma Hayek have all pulled levers for Mr. Garcetti. Meanwhile, actors Tobey Maguire, Tom Hanks, Eva Longoria, Kate Hudson and DreamWorks founders Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen have helped raised over $250,000 for Ms. Greuel.

The controller has also gathered endorsements from the city’s police and utility unions, which Mr. Garcetti has emphasized at debates in an effort to cast himself as independent. However, the councilman enjoys implicit support from the city’s other unions, which are officially staying neutral. Mr. Garcetti rightly figures that the labor backing could be a handicap given the city’s fiscal problems, and Ms. Greuel has gone out of her way to distance herself from the unions.

The city is collapsing under a $200 million structural deficit. Former mayor Richard Riordan has posited that it could go bankrupt within a couple of years if drastic changes to employee compensation are not made. Ms. Greuel’s plan to avert bankruptcy is to “eliminate waste, fraud and abuse” and hire 2,000 more cops–which could cost an additional $2 billion. Mr. Garcetti meanwhile has proposed a supply-side stimulus of zeroing out the city’s business tax, but he hasn’t identified spending cuts to offset the consequent $500 million loss in revenues (scored statically). Neither has endorsed the half-cent sales tax increase on the March ballot, which Mr. Villaraigosa says is needed to avert 500 police layoffs.

Polls show Mr. Garcetti leading Ms. Greuel by a slim margin with the culturally liberal Republican Kevin James and councilwoman Jan Perry trailing in the distance. Assuming neither candidate wins an outright majority on March 5, they will compete in a May run-off. At the risk of sounding fatalistic, however, the result probably won’t matter much. Power rests primarily with the city council, which is a wholly bought subsidiary of the unions. This is in part why Mr. Villaraigosa has shown little interest in governing. He’s instead used his title to raise his national profile and hobnob with celebrities.

The question, then, is why celebrities have become so engaged in a race of so little import. Perhaps they’re suffering from a post-November hangover and need to affirm their political significance. Then again, maybe they just want someone to root for this spring since the Lakers in all likelihood won’t make the playoffs.